Right-wing author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza sets off Twitter storm with outrageously racist tweet

The man who brought the world "2016: Obama's America" tries and fails to be funny on Twitter
 
By Elias Isquith

Disgraced far-right polemicist and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza sparked an outcry on Twitter on Tuesday with a racist tweet comparing President Obama to Trayvon Martin. D’Souza eventually deleted the tweet, but here’s a screen grab via MSNBC’s Adam Serwer:

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D’Souza, who was the president of the small evangelical school the King’s College until he was asked to resign after being caught engaging in an extramarital affair, is no stranger to controversy. His pseudo-documentary, “2016: Obama’s America,” while popular among right-wing audiences, nevertheless earned poor reviews and multiple charges of racism. The book on which the film was based, also by D’Souza, fared little better. It even garnered a negative review in the right-wing Weekly Standard.

Considering the source, then, D’Souza’s tweet is less than surprising. Still pretty terrible, though!

Elias Isquith is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on politics. Follow him on Twitter at @eliasisquith, and email him at eisquith@salon.com.